Commission into French church sex abuse claims opens

Yahoo – AFP, Karine PERRET, June 3, 2019

France's Catholic bishops set up the commission under Jean-Marc Sauvé in
response to a series of scandals that shook the Church in the country and also
worldwideJean-Marc Sauvé (AFP Photo/JACQUES DEMARTHON)

Paris (AFP) - An independent commission set up by the French Catholic Church to look at allegations of sexual abuse by clerics begins its work on Monday by launching an appeal for witness statements.

France's Catholic bishops set up the commission last year in response to a number of scandals that shook the Church in the country and also worldwide.

It now has the task to shed light on sexual abuse committed by French clerics on minors or vulnerable individuals going right back to the 1950s.

"For the first time in France, an independent institution is going to launch, over the course of a year, an appeal for witness statements about sexual abuse," said commission president Jean-Marc Sauve.

He has promised that the commission -- made up of 22 legal professionals, doctors, historians, sociologists and theologians -- would deliver its conclusions by the end of 2020.

"It is an important action to be able to give victims psychological or legal help," he told AFP.

The commission opens after Pope Francis in May passed a landmark new measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors, a move which could bring countless new cases to light.

Sauve expects thousands of telephone calls to a special hotline as well as messages to an email address, with victims then offered face-to-face interviews in a later stage.

The Bishops' Conference of France agreed in November to set up the commission after scandals which shook the Catholic Church at home and abroad.

'Hopeful but concerned'

The move sparked mixed reactions from victims' associations, who applauded attempts to encourage survivors to speak out, but questioned the French government's willingness to act.

"I'm hopeful this will help to break the silence, but also concerned about whether anything will come of the commission's findings," said Veronique Garnier, who represents a group of victims invited by bishops to the southwestern pilgrimage town of Lourdes last autumn.

For Olivier Savignac, from the same association, "This is the first time that such a substantial consultation has been created and we're hoping to see a wave of victims come forward", he said.

"I hope that public authorities will consider this problem in all areas of society."

Francois Devaux, president of La Parole Liberee ("The Liberated Word") association agreed the project was "a step in the right direction" but doubted "if people who have been betrayed by authority will be inclined to testify".

"I'm worried that it'll be brushed under the carpet, like counselling services" set up in churches, he added, criticising the commission's failure to include survivors' representatives.

French cardinal Philippe Barbarin was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence in March for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority.

Also in March, the Vatican's former number three, Australian Cardinal George Pell, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Melbourne court for the "brazen" sexual abuse of two choirboys.

Pope apologises to Roma for Catholic Church's 'discrimination'

Yahoo – AFP, Mihaela RODINA, 2 June 2019

Pope Francis met with members of the Roma community

Pope Francis apologised to the Roma people on Sunday for the Roman Catholic Church's "discrimination" against them as he wrapped up a visit to Romania.

Making up around 10 percent of Romania's 20 million people, many Roma are marginalised and live in poverty and have suffered centuries of discrimination and insults.

"I ask forgiveness ? in the name of the Church and of the Lord ? and I ask forgiveness of you. For all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you," the pope said in a speech to the Roma community in the central town of Blaj.

"My heart, however, is heavy. It is weighed down by the many experiences of discrimination, segregation and mistreatment experienced by your communities. History tells us that Christians too, including Catholics, are not strangers to such evil," he said.

"Indifference breeds prejudices and fosters anger and resentment. How many times do we judge rashly, with words that sting, with attitudes that sow hatred and division!"

Earlier, the pontiff beatified seven Greco-Catholic bishops jailed and tortured during the Communist era.

Pope Francis, seen holding an icon, said the beatified Catholic bishops, victims of 

political oppression, were "shepherds, martyrs of faith" whose gifts to the Romanian 

people in the early days of Communist rule were "freedom and mercy"

"The new blessed ones suffered and sacrificed their lives, opposing a system of totalitarian and coercive ideology," he told some 60,000 worshippers attending mass on a "Field of Liberty" in Blaj.

"These shepherds, martyrs of faith, garnered for and left the Romanian people a precious heritage which we can sum up in two words: freedom and mercy," added Francis, while praising the "diversity of religious expression" in mainly Orthodox Romania.

Regime officials detained the beatified bishops overnight on October 28, 1948, accusing them of "high treason" after they refused to convert to Orthodoxy.

The Greek-Catholic Church was outlawed under 1948-89 Communist rule.

Buried in secret

The bishops died of maltreatment, some still in jail, others in confinement in an Orthodox monastery. They were then buried in secret -- to this day the whereabouts of four of their graves is unknown.

The bars of the cells where they were held were symbolically incorporated into the throne built specially for the papal visit.

The bishops followed the Eastern Rite Catholic Church which emerged from an Orthodox schism at the end of the 17th century when the central region of Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Romanian faithful in traditional dress turned out in their thousands to attend the pontiff's 

service in Blaj, notably home to thousands of Roma, a long marginalised community

While retaining Orthodox practices they recognised Roman Catholic papal authority -- unacceptable for the Communist regime which took power following World War II. Under a 1948 decree formally abolishing the Eastern Catholic churches, Greco-Catholics were forcibly obliged to return to the Orthodox fold.

Under such stark political repression, most Romanian Catholics -- who numbered more than 1.5 million in 1948, abandoned their faith and their community has shrunk to around 200,000 today in a country of 20 million, almost nine in 10 of whom profess Orthodoxy.

The politics which has seeped through Romania's modern religious history has poisoned inter-faith relations -- even if the papal visit has softened feelings to a degree.

"No matter where we go, to the town hall, to the police or to school, doors get closed," a 72-year-old Roma, who gave his name as Ion, told AFP.

Roma, originating from northern India, suffered around five centuries of slavery before the practice was formally abolished in 1856.

But they remain a mainly poor and marginalised community -- even if recent years have seen roads paved and homes getting running water and electricity.

A Romanian couple in Blaj hold a Vatican flag as they attend Pope Francis's mass

Seeking inclusiveness

Francis's arrival in Blaj to wind up his visit was part of his attempt at inclusiveness on his three-day visit to one of what remains Europe's poorest states.

Although Romania has developed apace since obtaining EU membership in 2007 there remain some "urban or rural ghettos where nothing has changed," according to sociologist Gelu Duminica, who heads the anti-discrimination Impreuna (Together) association.

Duminica and others in Blaj saw it as no coincidence that Francis, often seen as a defender of the rights of the most marginalised, chose the Barbu Lautaru district of Blaj, whose inhabitants are mainly Roma, to launch his appeal for tolerance and social inclusion.

"The pope's visit is a message for those who are marginalised, disregarded or not accepted by others," said Mihai Gherghel, an eastern Catholic priest, who supervised the construction of the Blaj church where Francis celebrated Sunday mass.

Pompeo attends secretive global meet in Switzerland

Yahoo – AFP, Francesco FONTEMAGGI, June 1, 2019

Pompeo told journalists he was staying so long in Switzerland as he is a "big
cheese and chocolate fan" (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Bern (Switzerland) (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part Saturday in a secretive meeting in Switzerland of global power brokers discreetly discussing issues like Brexit and the future of capitalism.

The State Department confirmed Saturday that Pompeo, who is on a four-nation tour of Europe, would take part in the four-day Bilderberg meeting, which kicked off on Thursday in the picturesque Swiss town of Montreux.

His participation had not been previously mentioned in the official agenda and he did not figure on the list of some 130 elites from 23 countries participating in the event.

Already on the list is US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, who might use the forum to try to drum up support for his yet to be unveiled Middle East peace plan.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and elder statesman Henry Kissinger also figure on the list of participants, as do Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.

The group, which has met every year since 1954 and was created as a forum for fostering dialogue between Europe and North America, is this year discussing a range of topics such as climate change, the future of capitalism, the ethics of Artificial Intelligence, China, Russia and Brexit, the organisers said.

The Trump administration has taken strong and controversial stances on a number of the topics on the agenda, including swelling tensions with Beijing, complex relations with Moscow and a more than sceptical attitude to calls to fight climate change.

The luxury hotel where the talks are taking place has placed high bushes all around 

its perimeters to keep the press at bay (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Pompeo himself recently hailed that climate change was helping open new sea routes in the usually frozen Arctic.

The luxury hotel where the talks are taking place has placed high bushes all around its perimeters to keep the press at bay.

'Cheese and chocolate fan'

The participants are meanwhile held to the so-called Chatham House Rule, meaning that participants are free to use the information received, but may not reveal the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker.

The secretive nature of the group has given birth to conspiracy theories. Some have warned, for example, that Bilderberg is a group of rich and powerful kingmakers seeking to impose a one world government.

Pompeo arrived in Switzerland on Friday on the second leg of his European tour, following a stop in Berlin and before travelling on to The Hague and London.

On Saturday morning, he and his wife Susan had a guided tour of Bern's Old Town, and on Sunday he is due to meet with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis.

Asked why he chose to stay for so long in Switzerland -- from Friday afternoon through Monday morning, Pompeo told a group of journalists travelling with him that he is a "big cheese and chocolate fan".

Vengaboys head back to Ibiza with ‘protest’ hit in Austria

DutchNews, May 31, 2019

The Vengaboys in 2009. Photo: Violent Music via Wikimedia Commons

Dutch band Vengaboys chart topper We’re going to Ibiza, recorded 20 years ago, has become a number one hit in Austria after being used as a protest song. 

A video of the song was put online by German comedian Jan Böhmermann in the wake of a corruption scandal which involved deputy prime minister and leader of the right-wing FPÖ Heinz-Christian Strache. 

The politician, who has since stepped down, was set up to meet who he thought was a Russian investor in Ibiza and was filmed promising government contracts in exchange for electoral support. 

Wow, Going to Ibiza is #1 in Austria #ibizavideo

Hey @janboehm Did you make this happen?!https://t.co/grujlnjsuB pic.twitter.com/3q0hMbb705

— Vengaboys (@vengaboys) 21 mei 2019

The band, founded by DJs Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen, are now in great demand in Austria and performed at a protest meeting in Vienna earlier this week. 

The Vengaboys song is actually a version of Typically Tropical’s Barbados, which was a hit in 1975.

‘Vote for a woman campaign’ did the trick, 12 Dutch MEPs are female

DutchNews, May 29, 2019

Calls by campaigners for voters to give preference votes to women in last week’s European elections appear to have paid off, with three women leapfrogging other candidates to win seats in Brussels. 

Samira Rafaela from D66, Liesje Schreinemacher from the right-wing Liberal VVD and Kim van Sparrentak from GroenLinks have all been elected to the European parliament on the basis of preference votes.

Wat. Een. Weken. Super om alle reacties te zien. Net niet de 50 procent gehaald. Welke man geeft z’n zetel op 👀. Ik weet nog wel een vrouw die nu een zetel mist. https://t.co/cIBgE42w0C

— Devika 🐙 (@devikagauri) 28 mei 2019

‘What a week,’ said Devika Partiman, one of the campaign organisers, on Twitter. ‘Not quite the 50%, so which man is going to give up his place? I know a woman who missed a seat.’ 

Two of the successful woman overtook a man to win a seat, but Sparrentak’s seat is at the expense of another female candidate.

Why vote for a woman? The campaign trying to stir up politics 

The shift means 12 of the Netherlands’ 26 MEPs will be female when the new parliament is sworn in. 

Other female candidates, such as Kati Piri, number 4 on the PvdA list, also gathered enough preference votes to take a seat even if the party had only won three seats. In the event, the PvdA emerged as the largest Dutch party, with six MEPs.

Battered EU centre holds off populist surge in vote

Yahoo – AFP, Dave CLARK, May 27, 2019

21 countries voted on the final day of the European parliament elections (AFP Photo/
EMMANUEL DUNAND)

Brussels (AFP) - Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage.

In one of the world's biggest democratic votes, the main centre-right and centre-left groups lost their combined majority in the European Parliament in the face of a challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces.

The symbolic clash of the campaign saw French far-right leader Le Pen's National Rally on course to come in just ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist movement, damaging his drive for deeper European integration.

In Britain, Farage's one-issue Brexit Party appeared to have trounced the main parties and he will send a large contingent of British eurosceptics to a parliament they want to leave in a few months.

And in Italy, Salvini's far-right League achieved a similar result, strengthening its role at the core of a vocal populist faction in the EU's legislature.

European Parliament elections: projected number of seats per political group,
as of May 27 at 0130 GMT (AFP Photo/Paz PIZARRO)

The advance of the right was less pronounced in Germany -- where a strong showing by the Greens was reflected in a "green wave" in many countries -- but the anti-immigrant AfD broke the 10-percent barrier.

"We are facing a shrinking centre," said German conservative Manfred Weber, lead candidate for the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief.

'Big win'

Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, suggesting more than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc voted in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces.

Across Europe, according to updated projections prepared by the parliament, the EPP is on course to have the most seats in the assembly with 179, down sharply from 216 in 2014.

With the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) projected to win 150, down from 185, the two mainstream parties will no longer have a majority and will have to reach out to liberals to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" and exclude the far-right from decision making.

Brexit Party chief Nigel Farage has rejected any tie-up with France's Le Pen
(AFP Photo/Ben STANSALL)

The Liberals (ALDE), who include Macron's party, are on course for 107 seats against 69 previously while the Greens are forecast to take 70 seats, up from 52.

The various populist, eurosceptic and right-wing parties won more than 150 seats, but form no coherent coalition.

The Europe of Nations and Freedom -- composed mainly of the French National Rally and Salvini's League -- saw their share rise from 37 to 58 seats.

Salvini tweeted a photo of himself with a sign saying "top party in Italy" while standing in front of a bookshelf featuring a Make America Great Again baseball cap and a picture of Vladimir Putin.

The Europe for Freedom and Direct Democracy -- which includes Britain's Brexit Party -- went from 42 seats to 56.

"It looks like it's going to be a big win for the Brexit Party," Farage said, after an election held against a backdrop of disarray including the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May and the postponement of Britain's EU exit.

Extreme-right parties in western Europe (AFP Photo/)

'Save the EU' 

Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but turnout figures from across the 28-nation bloc were up, suggesting this year's culture clash has mobilised both populists and those who oppose them.

In Belgium, the far-right Flemish separatist Vlaams Belang was on course to triple its previous score.

And in Finland, the far-fight Finns Party increased its vote share and retained its two EU seats. The Sweden Democrats were on course to increase their share from 9.67 to 16.9 percent.

Dutch anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders was however set to lose all his Freedom Party's seats, although there was a strong showing by upstart populist Thierry Baudet.

In his home country of Poland, European Council chief Donald Tusk expressed confidence that voters would not succumb to "radical political movements" but admitted that the priority was to "save the EU as a project".

Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, in a poll 

billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

In France, Macron had taken it upon himself to act as a figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties, and Le Pen took up the 41-year-old's challenge.

"It is up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his presidential credit on the line in this vote in making it a referendum on his policies and even his personality," Le Pen said.

An aide to Macron however said the result was "respectable", with exit polls showing his centrist alliance on 22.5-23.0 percent, just behind Le Pen's 24-24.2 percent.

Another nationalist party, the Fidesz of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was on course for a massive 56 percent victory, according to a poll conducted Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron, seen with his wife Brigitte, will try to form a 

broad centrist coalition within the EU parliament (AFP Photo/Philippe HUGUEN)

The mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top EU officials, including Tusk and Juncker's replacements.

EU leaders have been invited to a summit on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominee. The EPP is insisting on Weber for the Commission, but Macron and some others want a higher-profile candidate.

Environmentalist parties have seen record gains in the EU elections as the conservative EPP and centre left Social democrats seem likely to lose ground, setting the stage for the Greens to end up as kingmaker in the European Parliamenthttps://t.co/JsYDZACdgl pic.twitter.com/NB4NAQLCje

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 26 mei 2019

Ireland votes overwhelmingly to relax strict divorce law

Yahoo – AFP, May 26, 2019

The outcome of Friday's referendum will also see Irish lawmakers granted powers to
recognise foreign divorces once it is signed into law by the president (AFP Photo/PAUL FAITH)

Dublin (AFP) - Ireland voted by an overwhelming majority to relax its constitutional restriction on divorce, results showed Sunday, the latest in a series of reforms to modernise the charter of the once devoutly Catholic nation.

Some 82 percent of voters cast their ballots in favour of removing a provision requiring couples to live separately for four out of the previous five years before dissolving their marriage.

The Irish government has signalled it will bring forward new legislation shortening the requirement to two out of the prior three years.

At present Irish divorce law is regarded as among the most restrictive in Europe.

It is thought to be responsible for the republic having the lowest separation rate of any EU member state, according to 2015 figures from the country's Central Statistics Office.

The outcome of Friday's referendum will also see Irish lawmakers granted powers to recognise foreign divorces once it is signed into law by the president.

The mandated separation period was a hangover condition from the 1995 referendum which granted Irish couples the right to divorce by a slim majority of 50.3 percent.

Campaigners said it placed an unfair emotional and financial burden on couples and families at a time when Irish rental and property prices are spiking.

The result of the vote comes one year on from the day when 66 percent of voters cast referendum ballots in favour of repealing the republic's constitutional ban on abortion.

While the result of that vote was hailed by crowds in jubilant scenes in Dublin Castle, Sunday's result was announced without fanfare.

In October of last year voters also chose to lift a rarely enforced -- and oft ridiculed -- constitutional ban on blasphemy.

A further referendum to excise or alter the constitutional article referring to the "woman's life within the home" is expected to be brought forward soon.

The turnout in the referendum, which took place alongside EU elections, was 51 percent.

UK leadership hopefuls vow to succeed where May failed on Brexit

Yahoo – AFP, Dmitry ZAKS, May 25, 2019

With Theresa May politically fading away, contenders to succeed her as Britain's 

prime minister start lining up while the risk of crashing out of the EU rises (AFP 

Photo/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

London (AFP) - The race to become Britain's next premier opened Saturday with an array of hopefuls promising to succeed where Theresa May failed and finally pull the divided country out of the EU.

But European leaders insisted they had made their final offer during months or acrimonious talks that produced an unpopular compromise for which May ended up paying with her job.

The British prime minister's voice broke on the steps of her Downing Street office as she told Britons on Friday that she was quitting on June 7.

May is bowing out with her legacy in tatters and the country in agony over what to do about voters' decision in 2016 to abandon the European integration project after nearly 50 years.

The markets view the risk of Britain crashing out of the bloc when the twice-delayed departure date arrives on October 31 as uncomfortably high.

The pound has been steadily losing value since May 6 and British business lobbies are raising the alarm.

Their main concern is that current frontrunners to head May's Conservative Party say they will get Brexit done at any cost.

"We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal," former foreign minister Boris Johnson said in Switzerland.

"The way to get a good deal is to prepare for no deal."

Flow chart showing what might happen next in the Brexit process 

(AFP Photo/Gillian HANDYSIDE)

Johnson's main challenges will come from former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab -- viewed as an even more committed eurosceptic -- and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Britain's top diplomat had campaigned against Brexit but has since reversed himself and made headlines in September by comparing the European Union to the evils of the former Soviet empire.

Hunt said moments after May's resignation that he would "make the announcement of my own candidacy at the appropriate time".

'Enthusiastic about Brexit'

The contest is being held against the backdrop of European Parliament elections that the new Brexit Party of the anti-EU populist Nigel Farage is expected to win with about a third of the vote.

Polls show the Conservatives getting punished for their bickering over Brexit and finishing as low as fifth -- their worst result in a national election.

The candidates are also mindful of a party revolt over May's fateful decision to court the pro-EU opposition with the promise of a second Brexit referendum.

Johnson has said that he would like to see Britain leave the EU on October 31, 

with or without a deal (AFP Photo/Ben STANSALL)

The concession was designed to help ram her withdrawal agreement through parliament on the fourth attempt.

But it won her no converts and sparked a party coup attempt that forced May to walk away before she was pushed out.

This prompted more EU-friendly hopefuls such as Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd to concede Saturday that they stood no chance and would not vie for the job.

"I am conscious the Conservative Party wants someone who they believe is very enthusiastic about Brexit," Rudd told The Daily Telegraph.

Johnson is a popular figure viewed by many Conservatives as their best answer to Farage.

But a long political career that also saw him serve as London's cosmopolitan mayor has made him enemies in parliament who will try to block his rise to the top.

Some political insiders view Johnson as a tactician who is talking up his Brexit credentials for political gain.

"He wants to leave with a deal and many of his potential supporters are expecting him to walk back from what he said," a person closely involved in one of leadership campaigns told the Financial Times.

Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, is also among the contenders

(AFP Photo/Tolga AKMEN)

Dark horses

Parliamentary party members will begin whittling down the field of contenders to a final two on June 10.

The finalists will then be put to a postal ballot of around 100,000 party members in July.

The field grew on Saturday when Health Secretary Matt Hancock entered the race with a promise to take a more moderate approach.

Leaving the European Union without an agreement is "not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister," Hancock told Sky News.

Hancock is view as one of the dark horses who might make it through a crowded field of more than a dozen names.

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart is also positioning himself as a more consensus seeking alternative to Johnson.

"It now seems that (Johnson) is coming out for a no-deal Brexit," Stewart told BBC radio.

"I think it would be a huge mistake. Damaging, unnecessary, and I think also dishonest."

Yet neither Hancock nor Stewart would say if they would push ahead with May's current agreement or try to secure added concessions from Brussels.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte -- seen as one of Britain's closest European allies -- said firmly that "the withdrawal agreement is not up for renegotiation".

Related Article:

Brexit withdrawal agreement not up for renegotiation, says Dutch PM

Brexit withdrawal agreement not up for renegotiation, says Dutch PM

DutchNews, May 25, 2019

Photo: Arno Mikkor via Flickr 

Britain’s withdrawal agreement from the European Union is not up for renegotiation now Theresa May has stood down, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly news conference. 

Asked if he thought that the agreement could be looked at again, Rutte said the problem facing Britain is not Theresa May, whom he described as courageous and trustworthy. 

‘The problem,’ he said, ‘is the situation in which she had to work… the UK not wanting to stay as a member of the customs union, not wanting to stay a member of the internal market. 

‘All those red lines made it almost impossible to come to something which could get a majority in the house of commons,’ the Dutch PM, who was a close ally of May during the negotiations, said. 

In Britain there is speculation that EU leaders will now rethink the agreement with May out of the way.

Spoiler: yes they can https://t.co/zNkqUeNtsX

— Christoph Schmidt (@trouwschmidt) 25 mei 2019

UK leadership hopefuls vow to succeed where May failed on Brexit https://t.co/hhRglfLRSU pic.twitter.com/HyZgonadSD

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 25 mei 2019

Dutch Labour party big winner in EU election, exit poll shows

DutchNews, May 23, 2019

The Dutch social democratic party PvdA is the big winner of the European elections in the Netherlands, according to an exit poll by public broadcaster NOS. 

Turnout was over 42%, the highest since 1989, the exit poll shows. 

The poll gives the PvdA, led by Frans Timmermans, five seats in the European parliament and puts the VVD Liberals and Christian Democrats both on four seats. New party Forum voor Democratie wins three seats in the poll, alongside the left-wing green party GroenLinks. 

Not going to stay up all night monitoring election results etc, but looks like a surprisingly good night for Dutch PvdA (Labour Party, previously in a death spiral), with a solid performance from Rutte’s VVD. Disappointment for leftish D66, but greens did well. pic.twitter.com/kiGyzxZpCa

— Ben Coates (@bencoates1) 23 mei 2019

The result will be seen as a disappointment for the pro-Nexit Forum, which had been forecast as a potential winner. The anti-European PVV is also set to see its support slashed from four to just one seat, according to the Ipsos poll. 

In total, just 15% of Dutch voters have voted for pro-Nexit parties and support for Eurosceptic parties, including the Socialists, is down from 23% to just over 19%. 

'Links' (PvdA+GL+SP+PvdD) van 30,1% (2014) naar 36,1% (exit poll)
'Euroskeptisch/kritisch' (FvD+PVV+SP) van 22,9% (2014) naar 19,2% (exit poll)
'Euroseptisch/kritisch' (FvD+PVV+SP+PvdD+CU-SGP) van 34,8% (2014) naar 30,5% (exit poll)

— Tom Louwerse (@tomlouwerse) 23 mei 2019

NOS commentator Ron Frensen said that D66, which has a strong pro-EU message, has been squeezed between the ‘Frans Timmermans effect’ and the fighting on the right. Timmermans is also the social democratic parties’ candidate for president of the European Commission. 

PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher said the exit poll prediction is ‘bizarre’. The PvdA has seen its support plummet in recent years but, Frensen said, the party should not count its blessings. Research, he said, shows that 50% of people who voted for the party on Thursday did so because of Timmermans. 

Exit poll for Netherlands shows unexpected gains for social democrats and smaller than predicted percentage for Thierry Baudets FvD https://t.co/duBMv5Utyg

— Prof. Sarah de Lange (@SLdeLange) 23 mei 2019

Forum spokesman Derk Jan Eppink said the party had expected such a result. ‘I am always very careful with polls and the official results is not until Sunday so we hope for an extra seat,’ he said. ‘Nevertheless, with three seats we can mean something in the European parliament.’ 

Support for Forum is down from 15% in the provincial elections in March, when the party was the biggest ahead of the VVD, to 11%. 

The Netherlands has 26 seats in the European parliament. 

The Ispos exit poll results in full

• PvdA 5 (3)
• D66 2 (4)
• PVV 1 (4)
• CDA 4 (5)
• VVD 4 (3)
• GroenLinks 3 (3)
• Socialists 1 (2)
• Orthodox religious parties 2
• Pro animal PvdD 0 (1)
• 50PLUS 1 (0)
• FvD 3 (0)

Nos also looked at what will happen when Britain leaves the EU and the Netherlands will get three more seats in the European parliament. Those seats will go to the pro-animal PvdD, the PvdA and the VVD.

Frans Timmermans is the big winner. Photo: European Union, 2018 / Etienne Ansotte

Related Articles:

Progressive, pro-Europe parties make gains in NL, Nexit support slumps

Dutch buck populist trend as Euro polls begin (23 May 2014)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…5 - Integrity That May Surprise…

The Unthinkable… Politics, A Review

Humans will begin to search for integrity and fairness and it's going to happen in the places you never expect. I said this last week, so this is a review. There'll come a time when you will demand this of your politics - fairness and integrity. So when the candidates start calling each other names, you will turn your back on them and they won't get any votes. They're going to get the point real fast, don't you think? How about that?

Let me give you another potential. This country that I sit in right now [USA] will set the mold for that particular attribute. I have no clock. Watch for the youngsters to set this in motion, and they will, for they are the voters of tomorrow and they do not want the energy of today. To some of them, it's so abominable they won't even register to vote in this energy. You're going to see this soon. That was number five.. ..."